It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve got back from my holiday to Iran which is enough time for reflection….Last week I was reading in the newspaper, which stated through some kind of vox pop (18,000 people), that Iran was the most despised country in the world; even below North Korea. This was the work of Global Scan commissioned by the BBC. It got me thinking about the whole nature of perception and the rubbish some people put down in writing. That quite possibly applies to me from time to time as well of course.

We are told by those who presume to know that we are all publishers and it’s true the internet has given us a wonderful ability to get our views across if not heard. Except of course if you live in Iran where the internet is restricted and the means to create a digitally-based groundswell to effect change is pretty much non-existent. The problem with us each being a publisher, or citizen journalist, in our own right is the presumption that our opinion may actually be equal or equivalent to someone else’s. Clearly this is not the case. The voice of an experienced and reasoned virologist should be regarded as better than some ideologically non-trained anti-vaxer, for example. So we should take with a pinch of salt all those people espousing a negative opinion of Iran unless they have actually been there.

Isfahan…put it on your list of must-see cities

I’m here to put the record straight about a few things – based on actual experience (albeit as a tourist). Iran is a complex, fascinating, challenging, beautiful, safe and beguiling country. Persia after all is the cradle of civilisation and a place where cultures, people and ideas have fermented a heady mix of religious, political and artistic thought. It still does. According to the BBC in 2014, 810 year old mystic and dervish Rumi is the best-selling poet in America – today! Even Deepak Chopra has published a translation of his love poems. This is a country with a deep sense of itself, great pride and like every country I have ever visited, they love their children and want what’s best for them.

Perhaps the recipe isn’t so secret now?

A couple of the measures I use to judge a country when travelling are how welcoming are its people and how safe do I feel? This is where it gets interesting because in my experience, which is not insubstantial, Iran scores number one of any country I have visited including New Zealand (where the people are known to be friendly – All Blacks aside!). Reading various travel sites prior to going, I was prepared to some extent for the welcoming people but the reception we received in large cities, towns and small villages exceeded even my raised expectations. This was in sharp contrast to discussions with Australians who were bemused at our decision to travel there and quips about being kidnapped were frequent. The extreme disparity between the perception and reality was marked. So how does this come about? It must surely be through the media and politicians, most notably in the US and Israel, who see Iran as a threat. As to safety – well I would rather walk Tehran at midnight than Washington DC, both of which I have done!

Scratching the surface of the geo-politics and you see that the issue is the West’s fixation with oil-producing monarchy Saudi Arabia (open disclosure here I used to work there). To understand the tension between Saudi Arabia (located in Arabia) and Iran (located in Persia), requires a history lesson that time and word count cannot permit. The schism between Catholic and Protestant (which coincidentally occurred when Martin Luther struck his 95 theses (demands) on the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg 500 years ago this week), pales by comparison when compared to the Sunni-Shia split which dates back to the time of the prophets death in 632CE. Needless to say we aren’t going to see a resolution to that any time soon. Until such time as Saudi Arabia and Iran, who both believe they protect the righteous path of Islam, can make good then the West will forever portray Iran in a certain light as they continue to hook themselves to the bandwagon of Saudi Arabia. Perhaps as we become less fossil-fuel dependent negative attitudes to Iran might dissipate.

One of the most frequently asked questions upon my return is what about the lot of Iranian women? It is as if people can’t wait to say ‘aha’ when you say that for women in Iran there is still some way to go for them to achieve the status that many of them would wish, or the standards that women in the West enjoy. Despite the fact however that they must dress modestly and cover their hair, they do dominate the numbers of entries to their Universities. In fact in latest figures in Australia according to Sarah Martin in TheAustralian in terms of graduation the gender split in Australia is 51% women and 49% men. Well done us! The gender split for Iran is 40% to 60%. Not bad you might reflect? Well that’s 40% men and 60% women according to Michael Axworthy, a historian from Exeter University in the UK. Perceptions versus reality…

That said I have to say there was a major event while I was in Iran which did underline the way women are treated. It was disturbing and would indicate that there is more work to be done. Perhaps we were right in our ill-informed perception after all? You be the judge. There was a case of a man using his power to harass, bully and cajole women into having sex. In many cases rape has been alleged. Not just a few, but many by all accounts. Perhaps it is not surprising in a country where men dominate and women are repressed? Once again, where religion is the under-pinning moral and judicial authority, this kind of double standard is not unexpected in a regime we, if the polls are to be believed, deeply distrust. Well the name of the accused is none other than Harvey Weinstein.

I actually took this photo!

Next time we read the results of a poll where opinions are freely offered, it is worth asking how well informed were the respondents and what was the motivation for the questions in the first place? This ability we now have to express opinion based on little or no experience makes us all vulnerable in our communities and also our workplaces. ‘Let’s not engage with that group they are trouble’ or ‘let’s not do business with Iran it’s trouble’ are examples where misinformation stymies community and business growth. Next time I’m grilled as to what I did when stopped in the street and asked for my opinion on a subject I have no knowledge of, I’d like to be able to report that Iran!

I’m off on holidays very soon to Iran. When I tell people this it has been pretty much the same response -why Iran? To understand the turmoil in the world today I think you need to have a deeper appreciation of religious tension. To understand the complexity of the conflict in Syria, or the ‘below the radar’ horrors of Yemen you need an appreciation of the schism that is Sunni versus Shia. Whereas the world’s Muslim population is around 85% Sunni, Iran is 95% Shia.

Given its location along the silk road between East and West, Iran (Persia) has been at the centre of the development of civilisation. As a result Iran is generously endowed with UN World Heritage sites, in fact more per capita than any other country. Its historical religious connections are immense including the early foundations of Christianity, the Ishmalis and the pre-Christian ancient religion of Zoroastrianism. I found myself with a connection to the Ishmalis who were protection by much feared assassins. I once considered working for the Aga Khan Network (the spiritual leader of the Ishmalis) in Kenya.

What perhaps has perturbed people most about my upcoming trip is the fact that my travelling partner, my wife, will have to wear certain dress particularly head covering. These discussions were a not infrequent topic in the lunch room when our Queensland Senator, Pauline Hanson, the leader of the One Nation political party, decided to make a point and wore a burqa into the Senate. As you might expect this sparked off a whole debate about whether women should be allowed to wear this full face covering in public.

At times people have commented to me that my wife should not have to be subjected to wearing the burqa and they wouldn’t travel under such circumstances. Actually my wife will not be wearing a burqa she will wear, when necessary, a hijab. Different thing altogether. The clothing of Muslim women appears to be such a polarising aspect in society. In fact if you think about it there is a much greater emphasis on female clothing than men’s the whole world over. In recent days Labour (and opposition) leader running in the New Zealand national election has been asked what ‘outfit’ (clothes) she will be wearing in a to be televised debate with the Prime Minister. To further illustrate my point Channel 9 morning TV host Karl Stefanovic wore the same suit for a year without fail and it wasn’t commented on once. His female colleague Lisa Wilkinson continues to endure comments about what she is wearing on a regular basis.

While comments about women’s attire might be ubiquitous there are undertones to comments made about the clothing worn by Muslim women that don’t exist outside of this religious community. What should be widely understood, but clearly isn’t, is that the dress reflects local customs and culture much more than religious dictates. I think it is beholden on managers to be across the nuances of such things as part of what I would describe as their Cultural Quotient. Good managers are aware of cultural mores especially when they have an ethnically diverse workforce.

My blogs are primarily aimed to provoke reflection not preach/teach but on this topic it might be worth just re-stating some of the issues of female attire worn by Muslim women to inform the debate around the water cooler. The birthplace of Islam is Saudi Arabia and those who most strictly interpret the Quran are the Wahabis (who strictly speaking are a minority but influential sect of Islam). They see their role as purifying the religion and have a very austere approach to matters of life and worship. This is perhaps understandable given it took root amongst desert dwelling Bedouin. The life of the Bedouin is, by its very nature, an austere one and where women’s garb has a certain practicality outside of its religious undertones. So the first learning point is that dress for women is based on geography and culture more than just a literal reading of the Quran or Haddiths. Put simply, because I am neither a Muslim nor an Islamic scholar, the Quran requires a woman to cover her head and bosom. Contention remains over the degree of covering and different countries and cultures have different customs. One thing is clear – not all dress is the same.

When Pauline Hanson of the One Nation Party wore the burqa into the Senate she was not making a point with respect to all Muslim women, but primarily those who hail from Afghanistan. The list below, while not exhaustive gives a flavor of the diversity of dress worn within the Muslim world.

Arabian peninsular – Abaya which is black and involves covering from head to toe. The head covering component is often a shayla. At one end there is a small opening for the eyes and gloves may be worn (black) to hide the flesh. At the other end of the spectrum the head is covered by a separate veil showing quite a bit of hair and wrapped loosely underneath the neck, full face showing. In my experience both extremes and everything in between exist in Saudi Arabia with no real issue. If you think the abaya doesn’t afford much in the way of fashion license for Arab women Google ‘Dubai Style Abaya’.

Persia – Chador which is more like a house coat held together by the hands in black or other colour. Quite often it reveals brightly colored ‘western’ clothing including jeans underneath. The degree to which the hair is covered varies greatly. The face is almost always visible. A hijab which is a scarf that covers the hair may also be worn rather than a scarf.

Afghanistan – Burqa which is from head to toe with a mesh panel to enable some vision. It is generally blue but can be black. No face is seen.

Jordan – Kaftans often have detailed embroidery on the neck sleeve and hem. The headscarf associated with this is the asba which is cloth wrapped around the head like a wheel then draped in a decorative fashion.

Palestine – A heavily embroidered cross-stitched material is worn by Palestinian women. The complexity and structure of the embroidery will vary depending on the town or village from which the person comes.

Turkey – Jilbab which is like an overcoat buttoned down the middle. They can be quite snug fitting showing a sense of style. A silk scarf tied beneath the chin is quite often the head covering of choice.

Indonesia/Malaysia – Dupatta which is a long scarf draped across the head and shoulders often paired with matching garments.

Morocco – Jalabiya is a robe with a pointed hood often has a belt, or string enabling shape to be given to the garment.

There’s lots more too, with variations within regions and between countries. It’s a rich tapestry and funnily enough tapestry is often involved!

The final thing to remember is that modest dress and head covering is not the preserve of Muslim women. In fact were you to visit areas in Pennsylvania in the US you would encounter Amish women wearing quite severe head-covering bonnets. Mennonite women, Catholic nuns, Irish and Spanish Catholic women, orthodox Jewish women, Sikhs, Hindus, Taoist and Buddhist nuns and Eastern orthodox women, for example, all wear some form of head covering.

The key issue is whether the woman wearing their particular dress and/or head covering is comfortable doing so and whether we can park our conscious or unconscious bias for long enough to interact with them in an authentic, equitable and compassionate way. Knowing the cultural nuances of your workplace and community, and appreciating the richness that diversity imparts, is a necessary part of our managerial and leadership toolkit. It’s also a great elevator answer for why I’m heading to Iran in a few days’ time.